Car ramps on stones

[Too Late]

Hi.

I have a Westfield which i need to replace the start motor on. My garage barley fits the Westfield in so ramps in the garage might work, but ideally outside would be best.

I am looking at some ramps, but the front drive is gravel. Is it safe to put the ramps on the gravel and to ramp the westfield up them to perform my maintenance?

Thanks
Nick

[kambites]

I wouldn't try axle stands on gravel but ramps should be fine. If you're worried about it shove a sheet of ply or something between the gravel and the ramps to stabilise them and stop them sinking.

[djdest]

If you move them around so they sit properly and drop into the gravel they’ll be sat on the ground under the gravel any way. I’ve done this with my trolley jack on our old gravel drive many times.
I wouldn’t work under the car though. It obviously also depends how solid the ground is under the gravel too

[Dr Doofenshmirtz]

Jesus wept, what sort of question is this?
How on earth can people on the internet answer this without knowing the substrate, size and depth of gravel etc.

Use some common sense and decide for yourself. At the very least I'd use scaffolding boards or something to spread the load.

[dibblecorse]

Dr Doofenshmirtz said:

Jesus wept, what sort of question is this?
How on earth can people on the internet answer this without knowing the substrate, size and depth of gravel etc.

Use some common sense and decide for yourself. At the very least I'd use scaffolding boards or something to spread the load.

You're right, is it CEO gravel or plain old MD of an IT Services Consultancy gravel, it all matters .... or is it Old Money gravel ?

[phillpot]

Just get some decent sized bits of plywood, bigger the better!

[tapkaJohnD]

Rally service areas are often just fields or untarmacked car parks. It's routine for service crews to carry planks or thick plywood sheets to go under the trolley jacks and side stands, as they would otherwise sink ion and destabilise the car. Service crews don't like cars falling on them!

JOhn

[227bhp]

Two 600sq concrete paving slabs. Cheap to buy new, some people even give them away on FB marketplace/Bumtree etc.

[GreenV8S]

I'd be more comfortable with plywood rather than concrete. Concrete slabs are not great at taking point loads especially when not well supported.

[phillpot]

what sort of ramps are you thinking about? basic ramps have a habit of sliding forward as you try to drive on.


Solve two problems at once, half an 8 x 4 ply sheet (3/4") cut in half again, so you now have two 4 x 2 foot boards, screw a piece of 3 x 2 (inches this time) across one narrow end.
This will stop the ramp slipping and the weight of the car on the boards before the wheels start up the ramps will stop the whole lot moving and everything nice and stable once up there.

Or better still forget all about ramps and get a small trolley jack and pair of stands. You can now also get wheels off for cleaning, servicing, pad replacement etc. etc. far more useful and of course can also be used for similar maintenance at the back end.